3Year Old Need Filling and Crown Using Iv Needle to Get Medicine During Process

Updated on January 11, 2019
V.P. asks from Magnolia, TX
9 answers

My 3 year old need fillings and crown. The dentist said she would be put to sleep and get medicine through needle iv in her arm. Anyone has kids gone through this. Should I wait till she get older ? And am I allowed to be inside

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S.T.

answers from Washington DC on

i would get a second opinion before getting any kid a crown.

my son was older, about 11, when he got some super intensive dental work done (cutting through his hard palate to place a chain attached to a brace). they didn't put him to sleep, they used gas. and i was with him.

a 3 year old might be too wiggly- but then again, why does a 3 year old need more than a filling?

khairete
S.

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D.B.

answers from Boston on

Using an IV is one way to deliver anesthesia, and it does make it easier to monitor the levels while avoiding putting something in their stomach. You don't want them to throw up or refuse to drink something which would make the procedure impossible to complete. There is always some risk in medical or dental procedures, and with anesthesia. I'm not sure that would change if you waited though.

Did you get a 2nd opinion? I see other responses and I'm kind of surprised that so many kids need crowns in baby teeth that will fall out. If the decay is so severe that she will be in serious trouble while waiting for her adult teeth, that's one thing. But if it's not necessary, it makes no sense from a financial or medical perspective. Be sure you are well informed, both on the need for the procedure and the method of administering anesthesia. It sounds like you have a lot of questions that weren't full answered. There's no reason to proceed until you have answers - and sometimes having those explained by another professional can make it clearer. If you see a 2nd dentist, take the original x-rays from the first dentist - they are yours and you paid for them. Usually they will email them but you can also get them on a disk.

Your question should be about IV (intravenous) medication. IVF is something totally different (In Vitro Fertilization - to achieve pregnancy).

Be sure that you understand why your child's teeth are so bad - is there a hereditary factor, or are there dietary or hygiene practices that you should improve going forward so this doesn't happen with other teeth?

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M.D.

answers from Pittsburgh on

One of mine had needed extensive dental work at about that age. We were referred to a pediatric dental specialist, and they did not use an IV. He drank a sedative, and after he was sleepy, they used gas anesthesia (laughing gas). They had one person monitoring him carefully while the dentist worked. He woke up very quickly afterwards and had no long term side effects. The hardest part of the whole thing was that he couldn't eat before hand and he wasn't happy about that.

I think getting a second opinion is a good idea, but I wouldn't wait. Do it now. Baby teeth serve an important purpose - holding spaces open for adult teeth later, so getting them pulled isn't a good option. And if the cavities are severe and you don't get them fixed, your child could end up with an infection there.

ETA: I was with him through the entire thing. That is definitely a question you should ask the dentist who is doing the work.

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S.M.

answers from Boston on

they are talking general anesthesia which does carry some risk. Get another opinion. And I hope you are already seeing a pediatric dentist. One of ours was young with a couple of cavities and out then pediatric dentist wanted to use general anesthesia. We got a second opinion who said that wasn’t necessary and he was right. I’m always so glad we got the second opinion.

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T.F.

answers from Dallas on

Why would you wait? Wait for the rest of the teeth to rot and fall out?

That sounds pretty serious to me and I would get a 2nd opinion. How long have you seen a pediatric dentist?

This should have been preventable but don’t beat yourself up because it does happen a lot.

Get anoth opinion and fix the child’s teeth in hopes of things getting better with permanent teeth. Develop good dental hygiene routines as it is vital for good health.

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M.P.

answers from Portland on

My first two grandchild saw a different dentist than the last three. The older kids dentist used gas rather than an IV. The dentist for the last three used IV in a hospital for the one who needed dental work. One of the older children and the one of the younger children did well with both procedures.

Having a crown and filling protects the permanent teeth. I suggest you ask for more information. If you want to wait until later, consider the reasons the dentist says he needs them now rather than later. I suggest that when he's older he still will need an IV or gas.

I would prefer using gas if the dentist has a good reputation. If an IV is.used, I would prefer it be used in a hospital. Parents were not inside when an IV was used. I was inside when dentist used gas. Gas was used in a regular dentist chair. Which way you go is your choice.

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R..

answers from San Antonio on

I thought crowns were for adult teeth and baby teeth were either given fillings or if the decay was too bad just pulled and if needed a spacer was put in to hold the space open for the permanent tooth if it would be years before it came in.

That was always the recommendation of our family dentist. He said "baby root canals" fail half of the time and you end up pulling and placing a spacer anyways after the fact for additional cost. And crowns were for extremely rare cases where the tooth didn't come fully formed or didn't have any enamel on it a genetic thing.

I would get a second opinion all my kids had gas then regular numbing. One time my son was very nervous so they gave him a small dose of liquid Valium...it didn't do anything but we tried. Even then between the gas and the numbing agent he was fine for his filling. Good luck!!

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H.M.

answers from Dallas on

My youngest was between 3 and 4 when he had his done. I would have done it that way again if he had to have anymore done after that. He didn't remember anything and came out like a champ. There is no way a child that young will sit still long enough to have that type of work done. And if you wait the teeth will just get worst.

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D..

answers from Miami on

It’s best to get this done with her being asleep. Fighting the dentist will be so detrimental.

My child at 4 years old was able to have 2 baby teeth pulled with laughing gas. He fell asleep. My other child was not able to sleep and freaked out over a filling. (He had 4 molars that had very little enamel - perhaps caused by a fever when he was a baby.) When he had an extra tooth come behind a permanent tooth, I took him to a children’s hospital for anesthesia. He did fine and I’m grateful for their expertise.

Ask the dentist if he has “giggle juice”. That will help your child relax and the IV won’t hurt (if he or she will use it, make sure to verify that the IV insertion will be afterwards...)

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